It pays to know how to "read" scans

K6AZ

I bought this coin a while back:



This is what it really looks like:

jonesy

Nice!!
How did you know that it would look like that??

cherrypickincoin

Beautiful. What's the grade? 64?

JohnZ

Wow, that's great, K6AZ! I'm sure I would NOT have bought that coin from seeing the top scan.

Clankeye

Yes, I'm hoping for the same kind of result with a coin I ordered from Heritage. Their scans can be particularly dark and color sapping. But, like you, I've got a feeling....

Nice Morgan.

Clankeye

K6AZ

Heritage is about the worse when it comes to image quality. Their scans are nice and large, but they never accurately show the color, and I have picked up some nice coins cheap from them in their auctions. (This coin did not come from Heritage though)

This coin is in an old PCGS MS64 holder.

As far as how I would know it would look like this, I have handled many crescent toned Morgans, and I used to only have a scanner, so I am able to tell pretty closely what a scanned coin with color will look like. Sometimes I am off, but not much. This coin actually looks better than I thought it would.

paigowjohnny

I can't think of an ebay or Heritage auction I've won where the actual coin wasn't much nicer than the picture or scan. I hope the luck continues

SeattleSlammer

K6AZ, nice catch. It is getting harder and harder to actually find scans these days that look WORSE than the coins actually looks in person. In your coin's case, the original scan is a bit fuzzy and has a washed out look that would indicate a more lusterous coin in person (as you also noted).

Though I don't have the original scan to post, I also picked up a beautiful Morgan that was dripping with luster in person, but had the same dull look in its Ebay scan. It was good for me because people did not bid too high. I took a chance and won. More often than not, I get skeptical when the scan looks TOO lusterous, thinking that it can only be acheived in those all too uncommon perfect lighting situations.

paigowjohnny

I just got this one from an ebay auction...although I can't re-scan what I have, the "rim rot" color and luster are much nicer in real life...

K6AZ

It's kind of funny, these days on eBay you either have fuzzy, washed out looking scans, or images that have been severely manipulated. It has taken a toll on toned coins on eBay, I have been seeing a lot go for far less than what they should. I think a lot of bidders have been turned off by getting coins that don't look anywhere near as good as the images.

K6AZ

"Rim rot".. hmm there is an interesting term for peripheral toning! I happen to like coins like that, as you can see by checking out these coins.

cherrypickincoin

You take excellent photographs K6AZ. From the first photograph I probably would not have purchased the coin as it is too fuzzy and therefore next to impossible to grade. The second photograph is far more accurate, looked to be a 64, as I said above, and is gorgeous! It can make a huge difference in the end price of your coin if you just take the extra effort to accurately photograph the coin! Wonderful work.

K6AZ

Thanks Brian. It has been an awful lot of practice, but I have got to the point now where I can get pretty good images of toned Morgans. I am still having some trouble with prooflikes, but hopefully I will figure those out eventually.